Props to the Cops – “Possession of a Prohibited Weapon and Wearing a Mask While Committing a Crime”

The First District Vice Unit has been deployed in PSA 104 for the last few weeks due to robberies. Tonight, shortly after 7:30 pm, vice officers working in plainclothes observed several suspicious persons in the area of 9th and H Streets NE. The subjects approach a couple, at which time one of the suspects separated himself from the others and pulled a mask over his face. As he approached the couple, the officers exited their vehicle and the suspect looked in the direction of the officers and immediately removed his mask. The officers continued toward him, he ran and was observed tossing a weapon in a trash can. The suspect was apprehended and the weapon was recovered. The weapon was found to be a imitation pistol and the juvenile suspect was charged with Possession of a Prohibited Weapon and Wearing a Mask While Committing a Crime. The offense that this suspect was charged with is a misdemeanor; however, I believe that the officers preventing at least one robbery from occurring.